What is Dengue Fever

• Dengue Fever: Is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.

• Dengue is spread through bites by several species of female mosquitoes of the Aedes genus, principally Aedes
Aegypti.
• The earliest descriptions of an outbreak date from 1779. Its viral cause and spread were understood by the
early 20th century. Dengue has become a global problem since the Second world War and is common in more
than 120 countries, mainly in Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America. About 390 million people are
infected per year, about half a million require hospital admission, and approximately 40,000 die. In 2019, a
significant increase in the number of cases was seen.
 The course of Dengue fever.

Symptoms:
*These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting,
muscle and joint pain and a characteristic skin rash and itching.
*80% cases have no symptoms.
*Incubation Period: Symptoms begin 3 to 14 days after infection.
Clinical Course: Febrile Phase, Critical Phase, Recovery Phase
Diagnosis: Through Clinical findings, Antigen Test , Antibody test.
Treatment: Supportive.
Outcome:
Mild cases generally takes two to seven days to get cured.
Critical: Dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in low blood pressure, low levels of platelet and plasma leak.
Critical: Dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
 Who should be suspected?
The diagnosis should be considered in anyone who develops a fever within two weeks of being in the tropics or
subtropics. It can be difficult to distinguish Dengue fever and Chikungunya, a similar viral infection that shares
many symptoms and occurs in similar parts of the world to dengue.
Often, investigations are performed to exclude other conditions that cause similar symptoms, such as Malaria,
Leptospirosis, Viral Hemorrhagic Fever, Meningococcal Disease, Measles. Influenza and Zika Fever.
 How does it Spread

• Dengue virus is primarily transmitted by Aedes mosquito bite. They typically bite during the early
morning and in the evening, but they may bite and thus spread infection at any time of day. Humans are the
primary host of the virus, but it also circulates in nonhuman primates. An infection can be acquired via a
single bite. A female mosquito that takes a blood meal from a person infected with dengue fever, during the
initial 2- to 10-days of febrile period, becomes itself infected with the virus in the cells lining its gut. About
8–10 days later, the virus spreads to other tissues and is subsequently released into its saliva. The virus seems
to have no detrimental effect on the mosquito, which remains infected for life. They lay eggs in artificial
water containers, to live in close proximity to humans, and to feed on people rather than other vertebrates.
• Dengue can also be transmitted via infected blood products and organ donation. Transmission from
mother to child during pregnancy or at birth has been reported. Sexual transmission, have also been
reported, but are very unusual.
Prevention
Protection from Dengue in images
 Prevention, Control Spreading

• Prevention depends on control of and protection from the bites of the mosquito that transmits it.
• The primary method of controlling mosquito (A. aegypti) is by eliminating its habitat. This is done by getting rid
of open sources of water, or if this is not possible, by adding insecticide or biological control agents to these areas.
Generalized spraying with Organophosphate or Pyrethroid insecticides, while sometimes done, is not thought to be
effective.
• Reducing open collections of water through environmental modification is the preferred method of control.
• People can prevent mosquito bites by wearing clothing that fully covers the skin, using mosquito netting while
resting, and/or the application of insect repellent being the most effective.
• While these measures can be an effective means of reducing an individual's risk of exposure, they do little in terms
of mitigating the frequency of outbreaks, which appear to be on the rise in some areas, probably due to urbanization
increasing the habitat of A. aegypti. The range of the disease also appears to be expanding possibly due to climate
change.
• Vaccination: Dengvaxia (Singapore), the vaccination will encompass 3 injections, administered subcutaneously at 6
months intervals. It will not give life long immunity.